Why being a small business owner works for me…

Being a small business owner affords me the luxury of working on my own schedule. I have young children and when my daughter was born in 2006 I decided I wanted to stay home with them and be able to do all the fun things that mommys do. I had worked for others most of my life and as a single parent to my oldest I missed a lot of his growing up years working 100 hours a week to pay the bills. Now I have the time to be involved in field trips and field days, the PTA and school councils. I don’t have to find a baby sitter when one is sick, I no longer have to try and race out the door with a toddler that doesn’t want to go to day care that day.

One of things I didn’t expect when I decided to work from home was the eventual need for adult conversation. I was thrilled when I discovered twitter in 2009 as I met a lot of great people that were doing the same things as I was trying to do. Joining in the conversation I learned so much. Interacting with other e-commerce sellers taught me how to move my business forward in ways I never expected. I learned that by listening, learning and sharing there are so many opportunities out there. Over the years I went from selling my kids outgrown clothing and toys to having my own product line and working in partnerships with some of the coolest e-commerce people I know and I still get to be here every day when my kids get home from school. So to me it is the best of both worlds.

- Karen

Karen Locker’s eBay Seller ID is MommysBazaar1 and you can follow her on Twitter @KarenLocker. Karen started selling on eBay the same month that RBH joined the company – January, 2008. Karen is a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.

Very few people get to truly understand the joys of being a very small business. You have the chance to run it by yourself, get help from family or hire employees. It’s all up to you. I started small – and chose to stay that way. I enjoy the flexibility of the hours I spend on my workday. I often work seven days a week, and also work at very odd hours. I fit my eBay business into my life.

If you make mistakes, buy the wrong products or price something badly, it’s your responsibility. You get the chance to learn from your own mistakes.

Depending on the point in my life, I decided how hard or how much I wanted to work on my online enterprise. I’ve hired employees, but I most enjoy working in a family setting. Before my daughter graduated from college, she would help me with my business. We’d go out together finding products, shipping items and working out pricing and profit margins. Had I been in my eBay business when she was little, I might have balanced a bit more between child care and school.

I speak to hundreds of eBay sellers every year, and when I ask them what they see for the future of their business, I almost always get the same reply. When the children grow up and they are left to their own needs and devices, almost everyone sees a retirement selling online. The best part of this is it is so totally doable!

Using social media expands the market for your items, and also allows you to bring together an online group of friends that encourages you in your business. There’s always someone to talk to, and someone to sell your items to.

I’m never going to give up my eBay business, and frankly can’t understand when someone tells me it’s too much work or too complex. Once you’ve got it down, you can have an income for life. An income will be based on just how hard you want to work. I love the idea.

- Marsha

Marsha Collier ran her own retail marketing business for 15 years, The Collier Company, and her eBay store is Marsha Collier’s Fabulous Finds. With over 1 million copies of her books in print, she is the top selling eBay author. Among her books, eBay For Dummies is the best selling book for eBay beginners. You can find her on Twitter @MarshaCollier. Marsha is also a certified eBay Ink Social Media Seller.

I plan on discussing how eBay approaches social media, my philosophy behind blogging, and – probably of most interest to attendees – how sellers can utilize social media tools to enhance their online presence, connect with a broader audience, and ultimately increase sales.

For all the information about the event, and to RSVP, please check out the Meetup Invite.

Cheers!
RBH

About the eBay Sellers of the Bay Area group
http://www.meetup.com/eBay-Sellers/

This group is for eBay sellers to meet, learn, share ideas and help each other. Whether you’re a casual seller wanting to make a few extra dollars by clearing out your garage or a Top Rated Seller earning a living, we are for you.

The group is free and meetups are free. We have an excellent breadth of members – from eBay trained Education Specialists to Trading Assistants to store designers to eBay employees and more.

You can listen to the show at 8:08pm ET / 5:08pm PT:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/34406

You can call in and ask questions:
(724) 444-7444 Call id 34406

They’re also accepting questions on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RRBradio"> http://www.facebook.com/RRBradio

Cheers!
RBH

I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant holiday. It was all a bit of a blur (albeit brilliant) for me to be honest. My wife and I hosted Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day at our house and then set off for Disneyland for New Year’s Eve with the kids. Upon returning home, I prematurely arrived at the office on Monday only to remember that we had the day off and now I find myself typing this blog post in a hotel room in Las Vegas about to head off to cover the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011. Phew.

My primary reason for attending CES this year (it has been 8 years since my last attendance at this show) is RedLaser / eBay Mobile. Quite fitting then that I share with you some predictions from the eBay Ink Social Media Sellers for the year ahead as they are dominated by features and trends directly related to both RedLaser specifically and eBay Mobile in general.

Thanks so much to all the eBay sellers who took the time to send the following answers over the holiday break. Much appreciated and I can’t wait to work with them and more in the coming year.

“What are your 2011 predictions for ecommerce, social and mobile commerce?”

In addition to addressing integration of social and mobile commerce and video’s continued growth in the ecommerce space, Cliff sees reason for concern when looking at product shipment expectations of the consumer. I would add that a recent “local” focus by online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon will also factor into the way online sellers offer products to consumers over the coming months…

Cliff Aliperti (@IEphemera)
“Nothing earth-shattering. Further growth and integration with an edge toward established brands such as eBay and Facebook. Video will continue to grow in importance. The greatest concern is in shipping physical goods, an area falling outside of our control where I believe continued price increases combined with little increase in service and an increased customer demand for instant satisfaction spells potential trouble.”

John Lawson is a bit like a shark and I mean this as a wholehearted compliment. Sharks need to keep moving or they cease to exist. I get the impression that he’s so incredibly focused on following his own advice and business mantra that when an email from me pops up in his inbox it simply distracts him from continuing to move forward (I’ll keep them to a minimum in 2011). As such, he takes a business-as-usual look at the year ahead (just keep moving)…

John Lawson (@ColderICE)
“Prepare for the increase of opportunity and competition:
** eCommerce (i.e. making sales via the web) will rise rapidly in 2011 and with it your opportunity to capitalize on the increase.
** With the increase of web consumers will come an equal increase in competition.
** Shore up your current customer base and use that information to market to other growth prospects.”

Marlene breaks down the question into three parts… because it was, after all, a three part question. I’d love to dig deeper on the “search by reviews” point she makes (almost like a Yelp! for eCommerce) and partner that with the personalization aspects and you have a key trend for the future…

Marlene Gavens (@TheSavvySeller)
“** eCommerce = “ratings and reviews” will become the way to search for items vs. search engine results or price.
** Social commerce = it will become more personalized (i.e. asking for friends’ opinions during the purchase process).
** Mobile commerce = this will be the year that there’s an increased awareness and use of QR codes.”

Danna and eBetsy both take the viewpoint that we’re just on the verge of something much bigger; that until now, we’ve simply been scratching the surface. I agree that there is lots to be excited about over the next 12-24 months…

Betsie Bolger (@eBetsy)
“I see mobile ecommerce continuing to boom, with new technology like augmented reality for eBay Classifieds coming down the development pipeline to astonish and amaze us. As for social ecommerce, given eBay’s investment in brands4friends and the ongoing rise of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites, I have to believe that there’s more to come in that area as well. All in all, an exciting ride ahead for ecommerce merchants overall!”

Danna Crawford (@PowerSellingMom)
“More mobile apps will be available helping to make life easier as a shopper and an online seller. I predict social sites will continue to grow keeping up with the mobile momentum as it sets the pace for an amazing future. I feel we are just babes in learning!”

Finally, Hillary echoes some of the same sentiments of John and Marlene around more and more business coming online and the potential positives and negatives associated with it…

Hillary DePiano @hillarydepiano)
“While the down economy may have sped up the process, I really think 2011 will be bad news for brick and mortar stores as the last holdouts switch to shopping online. While this may seem like good news for us e-sellers, it will mean a lot more crowded marketplace and one filled with inexperienced sellers that may cause us in the old guard problems. As for social and mobile commerce, to me they both go hand in hand with traditional ecommerce and should only continue to rise over the course of the year.”

Lots to ponder as we start to tackle the year head-on. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with some of the above? What else do you see coming to the forefront in eCommerce over the next 12 months?

Regardless, here’s to a healthy, successful and wonderful 2011 to you and yours.

Cheers!
RBH

· More than half (60%) of the eBay small-business owners surveyed said they are considerably optimistic about the future of their online businesses in the 2010 holiday shopping season.

· Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (72%) expect their total online sales to increase during the holiday months of October through December.

· Similarly, in an Online Business Index survey of top eBay sellers in the United Kingdom, 62% agree that they expect the holiday months to be their busiest of the year despite the continued tough economic climate.

· 73% of respondents say it is important to them that shoppers have the ability to browse and buy items on eBay using mobile devices.

· 60% say they are willing to adjust their eBay listings for easier viewing on mobile devices.

OBI participants expressed strongly negative sentiment when asked about the possibility of an Internet sales tax, with 88% of respondents saying they would not support it, and 81% saying they would support a small-business tax exemption in the event the proposal was put into law.

Key drivers of small-business sentiment included fear that an Internet sales tax would:
· Reduce the number of online transactions (74%)
· Reduce online small businesses’ out-of-state sales (69%)
· Make it difficult to maintain business profitability (69%)
· Negatively impact the U.S. economy (68%)

I received the results to the report a couple of days ago and thought it would be interesting to get the feedback from some of our Social Media Sellers.

I asked three questions in response to the OBI:
1. Is this survey reflective of your sales performance this holiday shopping season?
2. What item(s) from your inventory sold more in comparison to last year?
3. What factors do you think contributed to that?

Here is a sample of answers…

Cliff Aliperti
The items I typically sell aren’t viewed as gift items so I’m accustomed to an annual slow down running up to Christmas. I did have a strong October and first half of November before the brakes went on running up to Thanksgiving. I fully anticipate things picking up again beginning 12/26 as customers begin to spend on themselves again. All things considered though I am experiencing better sales during this portion of 2010 than I did a year ago.

In the collectibles market right now unique is what sells. I’m finding that mass produced items, even vintage, are not luring customers as they have in years past. But those special items, the ones which come in and the dealer knows are special, are still capable of fetching special prices… I was lucky enough to have a couple of collections comprised of unusual items roll through here recently which made for an even better than expected Fall.

An item used to sell based on age alone, but now customers are willing to wait for another one to crop up … even if it’s an 80-100 plus year old item. Likely it’s a combination of those factors, though I expect the true answer to reveal itself in the near future as we rebound. Looking back it’s been a great time to buy.

Melinda Jackson
I do see some clear signs,…. ONE, that we are attracting NEW buyers to the site. Lots of my buyers are brand new to eBay…. As the economy has suffered in the last two years, buyers are trying to maintain the brands and luxuries they are used to buying, just looking online to buy them at better prices. When the economy tanks, women do NOT stop buying lipstick, they simply try to buy it at the best price possible.

The advantage of the smaller ecommerce seller is that we can more quickly adapt to holiday trends in the current season, whereas larger big box online stores have already made their purchases for the holiday selling season a full year in advance. Smaller sellers can respond to changes to demand for items in the current season, and profit more from those changes. By the time it is clear that there is a new hot selling item, it is too late for big box stores to increase their stock. Smaller sellers can also more easily combine items, and more personally connect with the buyers needs, especially in collectibles and hard to find items.

Danna Crawford
I have been in circles of “talk” on the net about the proposed sales tax “threat” with a few sellers nervous about the impact. Many of us are hoping it does not take place but for me, I’ve had no impact on sales because of the talk.

My learning tools have sold more this year (DVDs and consulting sessions). I feel it’s because more people are wanting to learn about how to sell on eBay and seasoned sellers are also seeking out products to take their selling to the next level. My sales have increased as I feel there are more people needing ways to build multiple streams of income and my inventory reaches out to those type of shoppers.

Bobbi Miller
My year-over-year sales from November 2009 to 2010 have increased. We’ll see what December brings. I haven’t noticed anything (inventory) selling more than last year. I had heard that this year, buyers were going to purchase more practical items for Christmas, but I find folks are still buying the Christmas items from my inventory, however, I cannot get the same higher price for some of these things that I have in past years. For example, a Hallmark Plush Jingle Pals (retired) Snowman had fetched over $100 in 7 day auction for me a few years ago. This year, I knew that would never happen, so did a buy it now and got $25.00. I believe this is due to more folks selling their stock to make money
(more supply of the same items) and because buyers don’t have the funds they have in past years due to the economy.

eBetsy
This survey is definitely reflective of our sales performance for this holiday shopping season. So far, the holiday season has been the best time of our year. Sales are strong, up from last year so far; we have more inventory listed (thus driving stronger sales); and buyers have more ready access to eBay through their mobile devices (also driving stronger sales). Shopping on eBay no longer means having to be at home on your computer!

We are very much opposed to an internet sales tax proposal for all of the reasons listed in the survey; but we are definitely on board with the 53% of U.S. OBI respondents who plan to raise their sales targets for 2011. List more, sell more!

eBay’s higher Top Rated Seller standards and changes in general have really made us step up to the plate to bring our “A” game and to keep improving upon it. That 20% fee discount, increased search exposure, and nifty TRS badge are mighty powerful incentives! Best practices are absolutely crucial in today’s far more competitive ecommerce environment. Shopping online is old hat by now for most people. Back in the day, it was a novelty, and eBay led the way with a friendly down-home garage-sale/flea market vibe and a unique community where people really were basically good, which I believe was instrumental in making the buying public more comfortable and trusting of shopping online in general. Now it’s a much more crowded playing field, and more professional standards prevail. Even hobby sellers need to take their business on eBay seriously if they want to succeed. Progress invariably means that the bar is going to keep raising, so you’ve got to be continually thinking of ways to make your business rise with it.

Bryan Goodman
Sales seem to be better, but not quite what I was hoping for, but that can also be reflective that I have concentrated more on lower dollar items and have seen strong sales in more under $20 shirts & socks, which I felt would do better this season as buyers might tend to give more practical gifts instead of the whimsical items which they may have splurged on in the past. I think this is a trend based on the economy. But the good news is that even strong sales in mundane items can amount to creating a strong season and that optimism should boost consumer purchasing well into 2011.

I want to thank our Social Media Sellers for taking the time to read and respond to the report. I’m really looking forward to accessing their array of insights and feedback in future blog posts and initiatives.

Cheers!
RBH

In the meantime, welcome to @ebetsy, @marshacollier, @MisterBigFoot, @SeacoastBargain, and @annezarra!!

Learn more about each of them by clicking on their names below…

Anne Zarraonandia
Bobbi Miller
Bryan Goodman
Betsie Bolger
Marsha Collier

You can check out all the eBay Ink Social Media Seller profiles and also follow the SMSeller Twitter feed.

I’ve provided our SM Sellers with badges that they can put on their blogs, websites, etc. to drive traffic to their social media seller profiles and/or their ecommerce stores…

About the program:
The adoption of social media tools over the past 24 months has been unprecedented. It has given individuals the world over, the ability to create strong, impressive brands online that had been otherwise reserved for large companies and budgets. This has never been more evident than in the world of ecommerce. A large group of online sellers have embraced these new social tools to enhance their reach online and, ultimately, increase traffic to their online stores and content. It’s no surprise, really, social networking is part of eBay’s DNA. One could argue that the first online social network back in 1996 was the introduction of AuctionWeb/eBay.

Over the past 2 years we’ve been seeing an emergence of individuals taking these social media tools to the next level and transferring their entrepreneurial instincts to the world of Twitter, Facebook, blogging and podcasting. As a result, I wanted to start highlighting some of these sellers here on Ink; ask them questions about how they got started; and see if they could share some of their tips and tricks. This list is by no means exhaustive and I intend to grow it regularly over the coming months and years. If you feel you should be considered as an eBay ink Social Media Seller, please contact us at ebayink@ebay.com.

Let me know what you think and please let me know if you’re interested in joining the program.

Cheers!
RBH

There are a number of special projects we’re working on behind the scenes and to kick things off, I thought I’d ask a couple of simple questions to each of our sellers and share their feedback with you folks here. I can’t thank our social media sellers enough for taking the time to think the questions through and provide insightful answers to us here.

I saw some trends right off the bat (you’ll see them below). Primarily, there is a definite focus on “the little things”; all the little details that can be easily overlooked and end up costing you time and, ultimately, money. Secondly, it takes a LOT of hard work, effort, commitment and determination to be successful.

Please let me know what you think. I’m obviously completely open to suggestions and recommendations. Video? Audio? Questions to ask? You name it, please let me know in the comments. For now, here is the first Q&A with our eBay #SMSellers.

What is the biggest misconception you think people have when starting their own online business?

“The biggest misconception is that people need a lot of money to get started.” – Kat Simpson

“Without a doubt, the biggest misconception is that, more than any other type of business, people go in expecting to become rich instantly while doing less work. The issue is two-fold. First, they hear that you can make money online and assume that means buckets and buckets of money which is something they’d be much less likely to assume if we were talking about opening a pizza parlor or other brick-and-mortar store. Second, the idea of starting a home-based business appeals to people because they think of working from home as sitting around doing nothing. Starting an online business has all the challenges and pitfalls of any brick and mortar business and is certainly not anymore of a goldmine than any other business you work and build on.” – Hillary DePiano

“Easy. People actually believe, and have been lead to think by many, that no work is required. They think online success is a slam dunk and that it’s guaranteed… NOT!” – John Lawson (aka ColderICE)

“Some people believe that the Internet is so populated that if they put their items on a site for sale, customers will beat a path to their door automatically without much further effort.” – Auction Wally

“I think people starting out come to think things will be both too easy and too hard all at once, easily leading to being overwhelmed either way. Usually the roadblocks along the way are numerous but easily enough to navigate. Take a deep breath, read any available documentation and plow forward. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, even if it costs you a little money, the lessons learned are usually worth the investment. Once your current mission is accomplished, feel good about it yes, but don’t get cocky – this game changes every day and there will always be new roadblocks and challenges.” – Cliff Aliperti

If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently about getting started on eBay?

“I would do more research and learn the difference between a fad and a trend (that lesson cost me about $6,000)” – Kat Simpson

“Having the basics down means saving a lot of time… and time is money. That said, the first thing I would do is start reviewing my ABCs. For example, I would have thoroughly read my digital camera manual to become more familiar with the settings. I would have set up a good staging area for pictures… I would have also started my customer email list much earlier and would have developed an organized system for shelf placement of listed/sold/unsold and “to be shipped” items. Again, back to basics. Save time. Save money.” – Auction Wally

“I would spend more time finding successful large sellers and listening and researching their business model. I also would spend more time educating myself on good business basics and accounting. I think I lost a lot of money on some products simply because I did not really know how to calculate a TRUE profit analysis.” – John Lawson (aka ColderICE)

“My only regret is that I didn’t start out on eBay earlier. I had the buying and selling lifestyle in my blood from my teen years on through trade shows and other outlets, but I was scared to death of getting on a computer throughout the 90′s and so I wasn’t online until I was forced by virtue of my employment in 2000. My eBay registration was an early stop on day 1 of that job! If I’d already been on eBay at that point I probably wouldn’t have even needed the job but it all worked out as I wound up leaving it to sell full-time by 2004 anyway.” – Cliff Aliperti

“To be honest, I wouldn’t change much. I think even my missteps got me where I am now. You can take a million classes, read blogs and books but, in the end, there is no better teacher than letting yourself make mistakes and learn from them.” – Hillary DePiano

You can follow all of our Social Media Sellers on Twitter by following the SMSeller Twitter List.

Cheers,
RBH

Welcome to @andotherstuff, @HillaryDePiano & @KarenLocker!!

Stay tuned for more info and developments on how this program can expand and really benefit the selling community. At the very minimum, plans are in the works that would see me hosting an audio roundtable chat around eBay Seller Releases in 2011 and what the primary takeaways, etc. are around significant releases – that could be then shared with the greater group here online.

You can check out the eBay Ink Social Media Seller profiles and also follow the SMSeller Twitter feed.

I’ve provided our SM Sellers with badges that they can put on their blogs, websites, etc. to drive traffic to their social media seller profiles and/or their ecommerce stores…

About the program:
The adoption of social media tools over the past 24 months has been unprecedented. It has given individuals the world over, the ability to create strong, impressive brands online that had been otherwise reserved for large companies and budgets. This has never been more evident than in the world of ecommerce. A large group of online sellers have embraced these new social tools to enhance their reach online and, ultimately, increase traffic to their online stores and content. It’s no surprise, really, social networking is part of eBay’s DNA. One could argue that the first online social network back in 1996 was the introduction of AuctionWeb/eBay.

Over the past 2 years we’ve been seeing an emergence of individuals taking these social media tools to the next level and transferring their entrepreneurial instincts to the world of Twitter, Facebook, blogging and podcasting. As a result, I wanted to start highlighting some of these sellers here on Ink; ask them questions about how they got started; and see if they could share some of their tips and tricks. This list is by no means exhaustive and I intend to grow it regularly over the coming months and years. If you feel you should be considered as an eBay ink Social Media Seller, please contact us at ebayink@ebay.com.

Let me know what you think and please let me know if you’re interested in joining the program.

Cheers!
RBH